A girl named Grace (who has two moms) introduces readers to her friends, who are diverse in many ways.
When Grace wakes up sick one day, her Mommy suggests she have a pretend playdate with them. Grace therefore assigns each of her stuffed animals to represent one of her friends. She introduces us to them as the illustrations change to show them as human children in Grace’s mind. One uses they/them pronouns and loves to wear makeup and dresses and lives with their single mom, who is coded as queer (their dad “has another family”); one boy loves to dance; one child has two dads; two have a mom and dad. Finally, one is a boy who used to live with Grace and her moms, but now lives with his grandmother. They play in the backyard, have a dance party, a fashion show, and engage in several other games of imagination until it is time for Grace’s nap.
Grace and her family are Black, adding to the small but growing number of LGBTQ-inclusive picture books starring families of color. Her friends and their families are diverse in racial/ethnic identity.
The story is an earnest one, although a little on the wordy side for a picture book. The framing of the tale purely as an act of Grace’s imagination while ill also feels unnecessary; the story might have been more impactful and focused if Grace had simply been inviting her actual friends over to play pretend, rather than imagining her stuffies as these friends. Nevertheless, since the illustrations mostly show the friends as human characters anyway, as Grace envisions playing with them, readers will see see important representation of a group of children who are diverse in many ways, supporting each other in their imaginative play.
